The Last Voice
by Ostronaut
Summary: "It's selfish, but I keep thinking that if we fail... I could live to see the entire cycle come to an end." Liara never believed it could happen, but when the Crucible fails, she and the remnants of the Normandy crew turn their eyes to the next cycle and fight for its freedom from the reign of the Reapers. Post-ME3.
1. An End

**The Last Voice**

_By Ostronaut_

**-1-**

**An End**

"This is the admiral. We've got reports that someone made it to the Citadel."

Despite the roar of Reaper fire ripping through the Normandy's armor plating and the explosions reverberating through its hull, Admiral Hackett's voice came over loud and clear over the comm, stopping Liara dead in her tracks, halfway to her quarters on deck three. Through a haze of shock and exhaustion, a shot of adrenaline coursed through her body as one thought filled her head.

_Shepard made it_.

Turning on her heel, Liara dashed toward the elevator from which she had just emerged, Garrus close behind her. They had both just limped their way up from the shuttle bay, having been forced out of the mission by Shepard at the last second. A solemn rage still burned in Liara's chest as she looked back on her last memory of Shepard, running into pure chaos in a desperate attempt to reach the Conduit. She should have been there with him, she thought angrily.

She hammered the elevator call button with a fist. It was always notoriously slow.

"All ships," Admiral Hackett's voice continued as the elevator arrived, "converge on the Crucible. Protect it at all costs."

The Crucible. Liara had spent countless days studying the schematics they had extracted from the Mars Archives. Fighting the Reapers had always seemed like such a long shot, but every time Liara looked over the designs for the Crucible, she held out a little bit of hope.

"Do you really think he made it?" Garrus asked quietly, as the elevator ascended.

"It has to be him," Liara said determinedly. "Who else could have done it."

Garrus closed his eyes and looked away, nodding once. "You're right. Our Shepard's done the impossible more times than I can count. We've got to believe in him."

Just as the elevator stopped at the CIC, the Normandy lurched to one side, and Garrus and Liara tumbled out of the elevator, slamming against a wall. Garrus let out a loud curse, while Liara hissed in pain. Once the Normandy had righted itself again, Garrus offered a hand to Liara and helped her back to her feet. Together, they hurried down the length of deck two toward the bridge.

Major Alenko was already in the cockpit, seated at one of the secondary control consoles behind Joker. "Destroyer on our starboard flank, watch it!"

"What's the situation?" Liara asked. "Have we heard from Shepard?"

"No," Joker replied. "We haven't heard from him since he ordered your extraction."

"Meanwhile, the Reapers continue to lay siege on us," EDI said with alarm. "The Crucible is taking a concerning amount of damage. If Shepard indeed made it to the Citadel, he will have to hurry."

Holding tight to the support rails, Liara and Garrus stared through the Normandy's viewports, awed by the chaos and destruction erupting around them. Liara had never seen so many different ships in a single battle, but even the massed fleets of the galaxy were proving to be less of a challenge for the Reapers than she had hoped. A rumbling explosion to their left—a turian dreadnought, one of the most intimidating sights in the galaxy, was ripped in half by a Sovereign-class Reaper. A red blur streaked off to the right—a swarm of Oculi chased down an Alliance fighter squadron. And amidst all the dogfighting, several Reapers kept a sustained attack on the Crucible.

"This is awful," Garrus said. "We're being slaughtered out there!"

"I don't know how much longer the Crucible is going to hold up," Joker said. He gasped suddenly and banked the Normandy hard to port. "Come to think of it, I don't know how much longer _we_ can hold up. EDI?"

"Please standby, Joker. My cyberwarfare suite is pushing my processors close to capacity."

The fact that EDI's voice was starting to lose the humanlike intonation she had been developing was a foreboding sign, in Liara's mind. She cursed silently to herself. Watching the battle unfold was brutal.

A Reaper Destroyer swooped toward the Crucible, its main laser getting ready to fire. Liara cringed, waiting to see it blow a part of the Crucible off, when it was suddenly thrown off course. Something had just collided with it—something much larger than a Reaper. Liara realized with dumb fascination that a Ward arm had just pushed the Reaper out of the way. The Citadel was opening.

She let out a gasp as cheers went around the bridge.

"By the Spirits," Garrus breathed. "He did it."

They watched proudly as the Crucible began its approach. The Normandy followed close behind with the rest of Sword and Shield teams, forcing back any oncoming Reapers.

The Crucible moved slowly, it's massive hull rotating gradually on its longitudal axis as it drifted toward the Citadel Tower. As it drew closer, several large plates protecting its main power source were jettisoned, and four long arms slid out to clamp onto the edges of the Presidium. With a final flash of light, the Crucible stopped. It was finally in place.

Liara didn't have long to appreciate the sight as the Normandy resumed its assault on the Reapers, but she felt an immense relief wash over herself. The Crucible, a technological marvel millennia in the making, was finally complete.

"Be ready to disengage," Kaidan said. "As soon as the Crucible fires, we hit the mass relay and get to the rendezvous."

"What about Shepard?" Joker exclaimed. "We can't just leave him!"

"Admiral's orders," Kaidan said. "We don't have a choice, Joker."

"Hammer team took heavy losses," Garrus announced, "but there were still a few shuttles left on the ground. With any luck, Shepard can get out with them."

"He'd better," Joker grumbled.

Liara let her shoulders droop as the tension in her body dissipated. The battle wasn't over yet, but they were close now.

"So," Garrus said, sounding relieved as well, "what's the plan after this, Liara? Retirement?"

Liara chuckled. "Not on your life, Garrus. With my luck I'll be well into my matriarch years before I catch a break."

"Well, I don't know about you," Garrus said, "but _this_ turian could sure use a vacation. I hear Virmire's lovely this time of year."

Suddenly, a burst of static crackled through the Normandy's comm, making them both jump. "Shepard? Commander?" Once again, they heard Admiral Hackett's voice.

Liara felt her chest inflate when a muffled, distorted response came back. "I… What do you need me to do?" It was Shepard.

"Nothing's happening," Hackett replied.

Liara didn't want to admit it, but he was right. The Crucible had been docked for several minutes now, and while they were busy fending off the Reapers, she was still waiting expectantly for it to activate.

"The Crucible's not firing," the Admiral continued. "It's got to be something on your end."

The fighting continued. Reapers were holding nothing back now, converging full force onto the Crucible and what few ships remained to defend it. Joker did what he could, putting the Normandy through a intricate dance to dodge oncoming fire as he tried to get in a few shots himself. The vacuum of space filled with red. Every Reaper was firing on them now.

"Commander Shepard!" Hackett growled.

There came no reply.

Liara locked eyes with Garrus, his gaze desperate and unblinking. Liara felt her stomach drop. She had never seen Garrus scared before. Another ten minutes passed. Then twenty.

"Goddess," Liara gasped. "Why is nothing happening?"

A deafening explosion rocked the Normandy, sending Liara flying into Garrus. She whispered a hasty apology as she found her footing again.

"Kinetic barriers at thirty percent," EDI said.

From behind her, Liara heard Kaidan sigh. "I never thought it would come to this," he said, every word heavy with remorse. He turned away from his console to look at Joker. "I—" Kaidan hesitated, furrowing his brow. He thought hard for a moment, wrestling a thought in his mind before he cleared his throat and spoke up again. "I have to give the order, Joker."

"What?" Joker exclaimed. "No! It's not over yet!"

"Joker," Kaidan said solemnly, "We can't wait for it to be over. Not at this rate."

Liara frowned. "What is he talking about? Kaidan, what's going on?"

Kaidan avoided Liara's eyes. "I'm sorry, Doctor, but… I have to order you to evacuate the Normandy."

Liara felt her chest compress as all the air left her lungs. Her blood ran cold for a split-second, before angrily boiling up again. "_NO!_" she shouted, clenching a fist.

Kaidan bent over his console again and brought up a comm window. As he did, another explosion rocked the Normandy, and EDI announced that kinetic barriers were down to ten percent. "Lieutenant Cortez," Kaidan said into the console. "Prep the shuttle for immediate evacuation. I want all nonessential crew off—"

"No!" Liara repeated. Suddenly, her hands were on Kaidan's shoulders and he was ripped away from his console. Liara was only vaguely aware of what her body was doing as she stared hard at the major. "You can't order me off this ship!" she said. "I _won't_ abandon Shepard!"

"Stand down!" Kaidan barked. "As executive officer of the Normandy, I order you to evacuate."

"Don't pull rank on me, Kaidan!" Liara cried. "I've served on this ship just as long as you have. I _deserve_ to be here. I won't leave Shepard," she repeated. "He can still make it."

"He will," Kaidan said, and his eyes softened a little. His squared shoulders relaxed, and he let out a long breath. "You're right," he said struggling to keep his voice level. "We've all served together for a long time. You and I both know, if anyone's going to pull this off, it's Shepard. And when he does, we'll need you on the other side of that relay. We'll need people to pick up the pieces when the war is over."

Liara continued to stare at Kaidan, the hard edge to her glaring eyes easing a little.

"If the Normandy doesn't make it," Kaidan said regretfully, "Shepard wouldn't want you to go down with the rest of us. He'd want you to keep going for the rest of the galaxy. You're one of the only ones who can make a real difference."

"Come with us, then," Liara said. "He wouldn't want you to die anymore than us."

"I have a duty to my post as executive officer," Kaidan said. "Besides, I'm not a Shadow Broker or a prothean scholar. I'd be useless to the galaxy."

Being ordered to abandon ship was no easier the second time, Liara realized as she came to grips with what Kaidan was telling her. The first time she was forced to evacuate, she had to watch the Normandy SR-1 go down in a blazing inferno. She didn't want to have to see that again.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Liara," Kaidan said. The anger was gone from his voice; he almost sounded defeated now.

"Kinetic barriers are offline," EDI said, her voice deadened and robotic. "Heat diffusers are critical."

Liara forced her arm to salute. As much as she hated it, there was no arguing the issue. The Normandy was sustaining massive amounts of damage now, there was no time to waste arguing. "Aye aye," she said, looking at Kaidan sadly. He offered her a small, reassuring smile in response.

"Make the galaxy proud, Liara."

"Come see it for yourself when you get out of here," Liara replied, forcing herself to return the smile. She felt a pull on her arm. Garrus met her eyes and nodded toward the elevator. She drew a heavy sigh and followed.

Even the simple task of getting back to the elevator was a challenge with the Normandy being shaken up by Reaper fire, but they made it as quickly as they could. As soon as they were in, Liara hit the button for deck five. At the same tine, Garrus reached for deck three.

"Garrus, what are you doing? Kaidan said to evacuate."

"I'm still needed in the main battery," Garrus replied. "You heard EDI, the Normandy's weapons are being overloaded. I have to stay."

Liara felt another stab in her gut. She didn't know how much more she could take. "Not you too," she said, fighting to keep her voice straight.

"This is what I signed on for," Garrus replied. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I'd go to turian hell if I just abandoned my post."

Liara laughed in spite of herself. Even in the face of danger, Garrus was still making jokes.

"Kaidan's right, though," Garrus said, more seriously. "If we have to go down fighting, so be it, but we need _you_ out there." He took Liara's hand in his own, and looked her in the eyes. "A thousand years from now, the galaxy will be a better place. And it'll be because you're still in it, fighting the good fight."

Liara squeezed Garrus' hand. "Thank you," she said. The elevator stopped at the crew deck, and the doors slid open. Garrus stood tall and marched out of the elevator, proud and unafraid, a turian through and through. Before making his way to the main battery, he turned to face Liara.

"It's been damned good serving with you, T'Soni," he said.

Liara straightened her posture and looked at Garrus proudly. "Give them hell," she said, with just a hint of a smirk.

"For Shepard," Garrus said.

Liara nodded. "For Shepard."

By the time Liara got down to the shuttle bay, the last of the crew were climbing into the shuttle.

"Liara!" a voice called out.

She sprinted toward the shuttle as Steve Cortez beckoned her, anxiously waving his arm.

The shuttle started to lift off the ground as she clambered in, the door sliding closed behind her. Liara took a cursory glance at the people surrounding her as she stumbled into her seat and strapped herself in. Specialist Traynor was huddled at the far end, trying hard to mask the obvious fear on her face. Beside her sat Dr. Chakwas, who was holding together significantly better. Javik was seated next to Liara, silent and stoic, and James Vega took the helm with Cortez.

"We're about to fly through Armageddon, so sit tight!" Cortez called out.

As everyone pulled on their safety harnesses, the Normandy's shuttle bay doors opened up to a ghastly panorama of destruction. It was, without exaggeration, Armageddon.

"Let's hope you fixed those inertia dampener coils, Esteban." James said as he and Cortez steered the shuttle out. "We're gonna need to pull some insane G's to get out of this one."

Before Liara's eyes could linger too long on the carnage around them, the shuttle rocketed away at a blistering speed.

Seeing the battle from the Normandy's bridge was one thing, but Liara could barely stand looking at anything from their shuttle as it weaved through battling ships at a nauseating pace, and her only comfort was that she knew Cortez was just as competent as Joker when it came to flying. The denseness of the battlefield eventually started to dwindle, though, as they got farther out, but Liara was surprised to see Reapers as far out as Neptune.

"Approaching the relay," Cortez said. "Everyone, prepare for transit."

As they made their approach, a bolt of energy lanced out from the relay's eezo core. The world disappeared from around them as they were rocketed down the relay corridor.

Liara let the back of her head hit the shuttle wall as she let out a long sigh. She didn't know whether or not to feel relieved that they were now out of the Sol System, but she was at least grateful they weren't surrounded by Reapers. She jumped when a loud sob punctuated the silence.

Glancing at the rear of the shuttle, she saw Specialist Traynor holding her head in her hands. Dr. Chakwas patted her arm consolingly.

Traynor flinched. "Oh god, look at me" she groaned, lifting her head. "I'm sorry, I just... I don't know what to make of all this."

"I wouldn't blame you if you're in shock. The level of destruction was ghastly. It's not something any of us would wish to see."

Traynor laughed thickly through her course throat. "No, it's not. Especially not a lab tech." She closed her eyes and sucked in a calming breath. "God, I just hope the others make it."

"They will," Chakwas said reassuringly. "Jeff has pulled the Normandy out of a lot of sticky situations. As he should, as it's usually him who gets us into those situations." She glanced at Liara and grinned knowingly.

The shuttle finally cleared the relay. Dense, violet plumes of gas filled its virtual windows as they glided through the heart of the Serpent Nebula. The shuttle slowed to cruising speed, and both Cortez and James relaxed in their seats.

"Made it," Cortez sighed.

"Now what?" James asked.

Cortez glanced at James and shrugged. "I guess we just wait here for the others. The order was to rendevous at the Citadel—well, where the Citadel used to be—as soon as the Crucible fires."

"Which should be very soon," Liara said, trying hard to mask the desparation in her voice.

"All right," James said, nodding. He cleared his throat and breathed into an imaginary microphone. "Aaattention passengers, this is your captain speaking. It is now safe to remove your seatbelts, and you are free to move about the cabin." He grinned at Cortez, who rolled his eyes.

"You should work at a spaceport, you're a natural at stewardessing."

"Aw, you think I'm pretty enough to be a stewardess? That's sweet, Esteban."

"I don't think you're pretty, period," Cortez retorted.

James chuckled, shoving Cortez's shoulder lightly as he pulled himself out of his seat. He plopped into the seat beside Liara as she undid her harness.

"Hangin' in there?"

"I'm alive," Liara replied.

"That's all any of us could ask for right now," Cortez said, sitting down across from James.

A collective sigh went around the shuttle as everyone slumped in their seats.

"All right, so, what's the first thing you're gonna do when you get back home?" James asked the shuttle at large.

Dr. Chakwas snorted. "What, you mean besides rebuild the entire planet?"

"You're telling me you're gonna hop out of this shuttle and get straight to work, Doc?" James said skeptically.

"I might," the doctor replied. "I'm certain I wouldn't want to do anything else."

"All right," James said, shrugging. "What about you guys?"

"Sleep," Cortez said.

"Seriously?" James groaned.

"Shower," Traynor replied. "Then sleep."

"You guys are boring."

"Well, what about you, James?" Liara asked.

"I'm gonna get _laid_," he said.

"Oh, goddess," Liara mumbled, turning away from James. She leaned her head against the virtual window on the shuttle door, staring out at the Serpent Nebula absently. What would she do when she returned to Thessia, she wondered. Whaetever was left of it, anyway.

Liara started, snapping out of her idle thoughts when something caught her eye.

"Something troubles you, Liara?" Javik asked

"I thought I saw something just now," Liara said squinting her eyes. "Out the window."

A few people crowded around to see for themselves.

"You sure it's not just your eyes?" James said, peering at the virtual display.

"Positive," Liara said. "At first I thought it was, but when I looked I saw it again. I think it's another ship."

"Uhh, not just any ship," Cortez replied, sliding back into the pilot's seat and surveying the scanners. "It's a dreadnought."

"A dreadnought?" Liara repeated vaguely. "Why would—" Her breath caught in her throat when she saw another shadow glide through the clouds, only this time, she caught a distinct blue glow radiating from the metallic black surface. "Goddess have mercy," she gasped.

"REAPER!" James shouted. He clambered to the front of the shuttle and fell clumsily into his seat. Without any prompting, the others followed suit, scrambling to their seats and buckling up.

"Not just one," Javik said, still staring at one of the windows.

Liara could see them now too. They were barely discernable through the dense nebula, but every so often she caught the unmistakable silhouette of a Reaper through breaks in the clouds. It almost looked like they were circling the shuttle, like sharks stalking prey in murky waters.

"How many are there?" Liara asked in alarm.

"Too many!" Cortez replied as the shuttle accelerated. "The system is crawling with them!"

"We got a plan?" James asked frantically, as he and Steve swiped madly at the controls.

"Give me a sec," Steve said distractedly, squinting at another display. "Oh, yes!" he said in relief.

"Que pasa?" James asked.

"The closest relay to us is a secondary mass relay."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it doesn't have a fixed exit. It's a short range relay that connects to any others within several hundred lightyears. Unless Reapers can read minds, our little friends won't know where to find us once we're through."

"And if they just send one down every path?" James asked worriedly. Cortez didn't answer. "Esteban!"

"Keep an eye on those Reapers," Steve ordered. "I have to set the destination coordinates."

"Make it snappy, hombre," James replied.

No matter how many times Liara came face to face with a Reaper, there was nothing like the dread that filled you seeing one, let alone dozens, looming silently in the distance, closing in with uncanny speed. Thankfully, they weren't far from the relay, and they made it long before any of their pursuers got within firing range.

"They were waiting for us," Cortez said in disbelief as their shuttle flew through the relay corridor. "Council space isn't safe anymore."

"What about the Crucible?" Traynor asked. "Shouldn't it have stopped them? Even the ones in the Serpent Nebula?"

"We've gone into this fight blind," Liara said. "We still don't know how it works. Maybe it didn't have time to reach them yet."

"In the meantime, we can't take any chances," James said. "We have to get as far out of Council space as possible."

"There will still be Reapers in the Terminus Systems," Javik said morosely.

"Not if we get out far enough," Cortez replied. He didn't slow the shuttle at all once they had cleared the relay, and he was already plotting the next jump.

Liara considered Cortez's words and wondered what his definition of 'far enough' was. "Do you know where you're going?" She asked tentatively.

Cortez glanced over his shoulder. The look in his eyes when his gaze met Liara's betrayed worry, but there was confidence in the steadiness of his voice.

"Yeah. I've got an idea."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hey there. Thanks so much for checking out this story, and I hope you enjoyed this first installment. The concept here is pretty simple: what if Liara survived the Refusal Ending? The idea was partially inspired by the summary quote, how Liara could live to see the end of the cycle. Once I wrapped my head around the idea of her surviving, my imagination got to work thinking of how she would use her time, thus this story took form.

This is an idea that's been stewing in my head for a good long time, and this first chapter in particular went through many iterations to get to this point. Any and all critiques you have on the story and writing are very appreciated, and will definitely inspire me to finish future chapters sooner!

Given the length of these chapters and my limited free time, I can't guarantee speedy updates, but I am dedicated to finishing this story, and I hope you'll be just as eager to read along. In the meantime, leave me a review and let me know what you think!

Oh, and before I forget: **this story contains major spoilers for Mass Effect 3** and its DLCs, including the extended cut DLC. This story _may _also contain spoilers for the trilogy at large and the movie Mass Effect: Paragon Lost.

Thanks again! 'Til next time!


	2. In the Dark

Hey all. Thanks for the faves and follows; glad you're all enjoying the story. Don't be shy about leaving a review, I'd love to hear what you think so far!

* * *

**-2-**  
** In the Dark**

Cortez kept up the same pattern, jumping from system to system, cluster to cluster, along a random path of mass relays. There seemed to be no logic to his navigation, and several times, one of the crew would ask him if he knew where he was going. He always reassured them, but he never explained himself. Maybe he knew where he was going, but Liara couldn't help feeling that Cortez was deliberately rerouting their course in an effort to shake the Reapers off their tail. When she thought about it, it wasn't such a bad idea. Everyone had been terse and on edge since the ambush in the Serpent Nebula, too rattled to continue their carefree talk of what they might do after the war.

Their first jump had been to the Eagle Nebula, which took them out of Council Space proper and, presumably, away from the Reapers. Liara wasn't surprised – though she was just as unnerved – to see at least a dozen Reapers patrolling the Imir system. Cortez had to take them through another harrowing series of maneuvers to get to the next relay. They plotted their next jump to Aquila in the Ismar Frontier, bypassing the obvious hazard of Illium, the most densely populated planet in the Terminus and now a likely hotbed of Reapers.

From there, they took a haphazard route that clung vaguely to the edge of the Terminus Systems, launching in a random direction whenever they saw a Reaper; though in time, the encounters grew less frequent. Liara was both puzzled and relieved – moreso the latter – that a Reaper never followed them through a relay. Maybe the fact that they were only a tiny drop shuttle lulled the Reapers into complacency, and led them to think another of their kind would take care of it. Whatever the case, Liara was just grateful they weren't constantly being dogged by Reaper capital ships anymore.

She had asked Cortez once herself where he was taking them, but again he would not say. She didn't like not knowing, it was doing nothing to calm her down, but if anything, Steve Cortez was reliable, and Liara knew she could trust him. She had to. They were fully within the Terminus Systems now, and although Liara had served a short tenure as an information broker there, she was by no means an expert on navigating it.

Otherwise, the cabin stayed quiet. Both James and Cortez stayed at the helm, moving not once lest they lead the shuttle into another trap. In spite of her nerves, the numbing silence started to weigh down Liara's eyelids. She had been on the ground in London for hours, and before that, she had been coordinating with the Crucible team all day. She found it almost funny when she thought about it; she couldn't even remember waking up that morning. It seemed like so long ago. Not that it ever felt like "morning" in space anyway.

But Earth, whatever fate it had met, was lightyears away now, and without her research or the Crucible schematics in front of her, the only thing between Liara and sleep was the hum of the shuttle's drive core.

She phased in and out of sleep; the constant push and pull of dropping in and out of the relay corridors kept her from sleeping very soundly. She roused from her troubled slumber a final time when she felt the shuttle slow to a low cruising speed. She glanced out the virtual window and saw a planet creeping into view.

As they drew closer, she was able to discern a few details. It looked like a typical garden world. There were small bodies of water and obvious growths of vegetation across a wide equatorial band, with the terrain getting darker and rockier closer to the poles. Most notably, there were several manmade settlements dotting the planet's surface.

"Have we made it?" Traynor asked sleepily. Liara turned to look at her and saw that she too was only just waking from a nap.

"We've made it," Cortez said affirmatively. He took them down toward the edge of the largest settlement. He didn't bother with the spaceport, instead landing in the very centre of a large square.

Cortez's exceptional piloting skills showed in his smooth landing; Liara barely felt the ground bump against the hull of the shuttle as they touched down. The noise of the engines slowly subsided, going from a high whir to a soft, low hum, then nothing at all. Cortez took a moment to recline in his seat and rub his forehead tiredly, taking in a deep breath before getting up and hitting the door control.

Wordlessly, the crew stepped out. Slow and unsteady on their feet after spending so long sitting down, everyone swiveled their heads as they took in their surroundings. Liara instinctively hugged her arms tightly around herself. There was a chill bite to the air that surprised her given that it was late afternoon, at least, judging by the sun. Cortez and James were the last to hop out of the shuttle.

"Where are we?" Dr. Chakwas finally asked.

"Somewhere safe, hopefully," Cortez said. He stood in front of the group and sighed. "Welcome to Ferris Fields."

James stared wide-eyed at Cortez. "What?" he said incredulously. He seemed to know something that the others didn't.

When Liara thought about it, the name did ring a bell. A memory came to her, of her office on Illium. During her stay on that planet, the so-called gateway to the Terminus Systems, reports of all manner, some more ridiculous than others, filtered in daily through the local news feeds, and following all these stories was crucial to her job as information broker. She remembered suddenly. "This was a human colony," she said, breathless.

Cortez nodded, his gaze cold and steely. "Yes. It was."

Liara heard a gasp from behind her. She had a similar reaction as she took in Cortez's look of despair.

"Was this your home?" Dr. Chakwas asked.

Cortez only nodded. Liara could clearly see tears in his narrowed eyes as he turned his gaze to the ground. James came up beside him and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"As you may or may not know," he said, continuing on behalf Cortez, "about a year ago, colonies along the outskirts of the Terminus were abducted by the Collectors. Ferris Fields was one of those colonies."

"Collectors," Javik repeated spitefully. "My people, corrupted by the Reapers. I know firsthand the devastation they can cause. I am truly sorry."

"My colony, Fehl Prime, was taken too," James said. "Javik's right, they're nasty sons of bitches."

Everyone took a turn to offer their condolences to Cortez. He straightened up, wiping his forearm across his tearstained eyes. "Thank you," he murmured, clearing his throat. "Sorry for the waterworks. I didn't think coming back would be this hard."

"There's no need to apologize," Liara assured Cortez. "I can't imagine what it must be like. But, I'm curious, why come here?"

Cortez took in a steadying breath. "The Collectors wiped this colony clean a year ago," he said. "By the time the Reapers hit, the Collectors had moved on, leaving behind an empty planet. I figured it was our best shot at a planet that wasn't crawling with husks, like the colonies in Council space. Plus, it's the only world this far out that I actually know how to get to."

"Remarkable," Chakwas commented. "I'd never have thought of that."

"And it doesn't hurt that we're on the edge of the Terminus Systems," Traynor added. "From what we've seen, the Reapers seem to be centred on Council space."

"Haha, look at that," James said, grinning wide. "Even in the face of certain death our Esteban here comes up with a brilliant plan."

Cortez fixed James with his signature smirk. "Well, if I left the navigating to you, we'd already be Reaper chow."

"Hey!" James said as Cortez chuckled. "Man, you sure know how to take a compliment."

Liara broke away from the group to take in her surroundings. The square they had landed in was paved with white stone, bordered on all sides by a few offices and commercial buildings, all a dozen storeys or less. Two streets spread out from the square to their left and right, leading to some houses and other, smaller structures. Behind the buildings, a tall communications tower loomed over them, and further in the distance, even taller skyscrapers stood, interrupting the horizon in a jagged skyline. "Was this where you lived?" Liara asked.

"No," Cortez replied. "We're just a few minutes out from the planet's capital. I lived in a quieter neighbourhood, just west of here. Robert and I liked being away from all the city noise."

Liara cocked her head. "Robert?" she asked, turning around.

"My late husband," Cortez said. "We moved here together after the Battle of the Citadel."

"Oh, Cortez, I'm–," Liara said quickly, but Cortez raised a hand.

"Please, it's okay. I think I've heard enough of that word." He managed a small smile. "It's been over a year now. I've made my peace with it. With some help, of course." He turned to look at James and smiled appreciatively.

"We've all lost someone thanks to this war," James replied solemnly. "That's why we have to stay strong."

"I couldn't agree more," Dr. Chakwas said. "Though, hopefully, we've seen the last of this war."

"Here's hoping," Liara said tiredly. She took another look around the city square. "I don't know how long it will take, but we could end up spending several days here."

"We have underground storehouses stocked with food," Steve said, coming up beside Liara. "It's pretty much required being so far from Alliance space. We were prepared for almost anything. Almost," Steve said, with a dark smile. "The provisions should last us a good long while. Ferris Fields was a big colony."

"That's great and all," Traynor interjected, "but when exactly are we leaving? Not that I'm ungrateful or anything, far from it, but we can't stay here forever."

"Not until we get the all-clear," Liara replied. "The admirals were very clear that as soon as the threat was neutralized, they would send a transmission through every channel. Eventually, we should hear something."

"Should we try to contact the Normandy? I can probably use the colony's systems to link us into the network."

"That would be inadvisable," Javik said. "Until we get the all-clear, we do not know for certain if the Reapers have been defeated. And if they haven't, any signals we broadcast will lead them straight here."

"Would they really go through all the effort for half a dozen of us?"

"The Reapers have only one purpose," Javik said gravely. "To harvest _all_ intelligent life. Half a dozen is still more than zero, and the Reapers will not rest until zero lifeforms remain, no matter how many centuries it takes.

"It's grim, I know," Liara said, noting Traynor's look of frustration, "but Javik is right. We're in the dark right now, and we're only a small group. Our best course of action is to wait it out until something, or someone, reaches us. Although, I don't know where exactly we can wait," she said uncertainly, looking around.

"There are bedrolls in the storehouses too," Cortez said. "And medical supplies, if we need them."

"You weren't kidding when you said this colony was prepared for anything," Dr. Chakwas said, sounding impressed.

"We're on the very edge of the Terminus Systems." Cortez said. "If any sort of disaster were to hit Ferris Fields, we'd need to hold out long enough for the Alliance to make it out here."

"All right, where are we setting up camp?" James asked

Cortez looked around himself and shrugged. "Pick a building, any building."

"We should stay close to the comm tower if we can," Liara said. "If we get it up and running, we can be ready to receive any transmissions." She pointed to the building on the south side of the square. "What's in there?"

"That's just a commercial tower. Ariake Tech had offices there, if I remember correctly. There'll be lots of floor space in there. Maybe a staff lounge if we're lucky."

"Dibs!" James called out. "You can take the floor, Esteban," he said, grinning at Cortez.

"That's hardly fair, Mr. Vega," Cortez argued.

"We should dredge up some supplies from the storehouses then," Liara said.

Cortez nodded. "Right. Follow me." He motioned for everyone to get back into the shuttle. Once they were off the ground again, he took them down a few narrow back roads. Off one of the side streets was a small, concrete building. Everyone filed out and followed Cortez to a pair of heavy, metal doors that led to a staircase down into the storehouse.

It was dark and cold, moreso than Liara expected owing to the fact that none of the lights were working. By the light of their omnitools, they were able to locate several crates of rations, as well as the bed rolls. Liara helped James with one of the crates, Cortez and Javik took another, and Traynor and Dr. Chakwas took bundles of bedrolls in their arms. They made their way carefully through the darkness and back up to the surface.

It took them only a short while to haul everything back to their encampment. Liara made quick work of hacking the security locks on the office building, and they were inside before long, dropping their supplies on the smooth tiled floor of the lobby.

Liara scanned the large, rectangular room, noting that it was only filled with long counters, tables and some rather rigid looking chairs. It didn't really matter were she decided to settle down, she realized, she wasn't going to be very comfortable.

She heard Cortez talking to James about restarting the generators as she picked up a bedroll and shuffled to a patch of empty floor near the front reception desk. Dropping to her knees tiredly, she unfurled the bedroll, its beige, quilted fabric spilling out in front of her.

The voices around her grew more faint as a familiar feeling of fatigue washed over her. She felt the fabric under her fingers as she crawled onto her humble bed, pillowy soft despite its thinness. As she had on the shuttle, Liara felt sleep pulling at her insistently, and her limbs gave out as she fell into her bed, the last of the light around her fading away.

The floor wasn't comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, but nevertheless when Liara finally woke, she wanted nothing more than to turn over, pull her bedroll over her head and fall back asleep. It was a blissful moment of half-awareness in which Liara forgot, however briefly, that she was on the floor of an abandoned building, on a colony world at the edge of the galaxy. When it did come back to her, she only willed herself to fall asleep even more. It was in vain, though. Something told her she had been asleep for a long time, and her body was ready to get up.

She looked around herself and noted sheepishly that every other bedroll was empty. Getting to her feet, Liara stretched her arms over her head and yawned deeply. Soft, golden sunlight poured in through the large front windows, casting long shadows across the floor that told Liara it was only just morning. Reluctant to greet the new day, Liara stretched once more, taking time to work out a knot in her neck, before she slowly making her way across the lobby to the doors.

A cool gust blew past Liara as the doors opened up to the sunlit square, and she rubbed the backs of her arms as she swept her eyes over the plaza. She didn't have the faintest idea of where to find anyone, but she caught a glimpse of the comm tower out of the corner of her eye and thought she might see if someone had gotten it working.

Liara was surprised when the orange security panel on the door flashed green as she walked up to it. Someone must have already accessed the tower if the door was synced to her ID. She tapped the 'open' button on the panel, her glove's haptic interface vibrating lightly as her finger passed through the holographic display, and the door slid open. The foyer, a small adminstration area, was empty, but Liara followed the signs that pointed to the primary communications centre. In the centre of the large circular room, Traynor sat at a computer array. The room was mostly dark, save for the flickering glow of its many holo-displays. Whatever Traynor was doing, she was deeply focused on it, only noticing Liara after almost a minute. Her eyes lit up and she gave a small wave.

"Liara!" she greeted cheerfully. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Traynor." Liara said, nodding in response. "I gather the comm tower is operational?"

"Nearly," Traynor said. "I'm just testing connection stability with the nearest buoy now."

Liara frowned. "And we're certain this signal activity won't alert the Reapers?"

"Doubt it," Traynor said casually. "It's just a simple ping. There are probably loads of abandoned satellites and communications arrays out there sending out all sorts of noise. We won't even blip on their radar." She must have detected a lingering hint of uncertainty in Liara's expression and added cheekily, "I do this for a living, you know. I know what I'm doing."

"Right. You're right, sorry," Liara stammered. "I'm just nervous, that's all." She forced her fingers apart after she realized she had been wringing her hands.

"You're more than nervous," Traynor said, more seriously. "We all are, and who could blame us really? But, no use letting it get to you, yeah? We've all got a job to do."

The relative cool of Traynor's voice surprised Liara. Out of anyone, she didn't expect a lab technician to be so nonchalant about their situation, but maybe that was just the way she coped with it. Maybe that's how Liara should too, she thought to herself. "You're absolutely right, Traynor," she said, a little more confidently. "We need to stay focused."

And Traynor did look focused, such that she barely registered what Liara had said as her display terminal stole her attention. "Sorry," she muttered. "Weird readings."

"Perhaps I could help?" Liara offered.

"Oh, that's all right," Traynor replied, not pulling her gaze from her screen. "This is a piece of cake compared to what they had me doing on the Normandy, it'll only take me a minute."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'd hate to run out of things to do on my first day here." She glanced away from her display for just a moment to grin at Liara. "You could ask the others if they need help."

This gave Liara pause. She hadn't even thought of where the others might be. "Any idea where they are?"

"James and Cortez took the shuttle. They're out somewhere repairing the generators."

"They're not already fixed?" Liara asked. "How is the comm tower running without power?"

"It runs off a dedicated power source," Traynor explained. "In case of planetwide power failure, the comm tower can stay operational to send a distress call. Cortez made the comm tower a priority before tackling the main grid."

"I see," Liara said. "And the others?"

"Dr. Chakwas is at the hospital down the road. Guess it doesn't hurt to be prepared. As for Javik, I don't know. No one's seen him this morning."

"How very like Javik," Liara mused, smiling a little. She took one last look around the communications centre and decided Traynor was more than capable of handling herself. "Well, I'll leave you to your work, then," she said, making for the exit.

"Cheers," Traynor replied. "Call me when lunch is ready."

As Liara stepped into the square once more, she wondered briefly where Javik was. She knew better than to get too worried; Javik had no good reason to abandon them. He had had his fair share of disagreements with the crew, Liara included, but she knew he was fiercely loyal to their cause. In any case, Liara knew he enjoyed his solitude. The few times Liara could muster the courage to come down to the port cargo bay of the Normandy and see Javik, she was usually met with a very cool welcome at best.

Without knowing where the generators were, Liara headed for the hospital, which was indeed just down the road from the square. It wasn't much more than a small clinic, just enough to serve the small neighbourhood they were in. Like the comm tower, the hospital's doors recognized Liara as she approached and unlocked for her.

She found Dr. Chakwas in the first room she peered into, a small room not unlike the infirmary aboard the Normandy, cluttered with large machines and a single examination table. Unlike Traynor, the doctor looked up from her work, immediately noticing Liara. She was standing at a counter, halfway through unpacking a small crate of medication.

"Ah, Liara, good morning," Dr. Chakwas said warmly.

"Taking stock of our supplies?" Liara asked, walking up beside Dr. Chakwas to peek inside the box.

"I am," Dr. Chakwas replied. "Nothing fancy, and I'm missing a few things from the Normandy, but we'll manage."

"Hopefully we won't need any of it," Liara said. "The last thing we need is someone getting sick out here."

Dr. Chakwas shrugged as she continued her work. "This world's a bit colder than we're used to, but we should be all right. It never hurts to be prepared though, even if we are only going to be here for a few days. That is what you said, isn't it?"

"A few days," Liara repeated distantly. "Yes. It shouldn't take much longer than that." She avoided Dr. Chakwas' eyes and looked out one of the windows. "I don't even know how long a day us on this planet," she added, sounding puzzled.

"Thirty-six Earth hours, according to Cortez."

"That's nearly twenty-six hours Galactic Standard Time." Liara said. "Goddess, that's a long day."

"That's a day and a half where I come from. But, hopefully, that means we're in for a short wait," the doctor said, lifting up her now empty crate and placing it on the floor.

"Or a long one," Liara said under her breath. She perked up when she noticed that Dr. Chakwas was no longer standing beside her and, seeing her across the room, jogged over to catch up with her. "Here," she said, crouching over the unopened crate Dr. Chakwas was about to grab, "let me help you."

"I can manage," Dr. Chakwas said, sounding bemused but allowing Liara to take the crate. "I'm not that old," she added with a chuckle.

"Well, I feel guilty just standing around while you work away." She set the crate on the counter and cracked it open. Her eyes swept over the many boxes and bottles inside, and she felt a funny, sinking feeling in her gut when she didn't recognize or understand any of the names on the labels.

"Inventory is hardly work," Dr. Chakwas said. "Wait until someone's missing a limb, then I'll find something for you to do."

Liara let out a resigned-sounding laugh. "I don't think I'd be much help in that situation either."

"You could at least hold the limb in place while I stitch it back on."

Liara laughed again, more sincerely this time. It shouldn't have been funny, but Dr. Chakwas always did have a cynical sense of humour and, given the doctor's long career, Liara wouldn't have been surprised if she had a good number of limb reattachments under her belt, which was even less funny and more so all at once. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," Dr. Chakwas said, digging into the new crate and examining its contents one by one. She continued in silence for a minute or so, leaving Liara to watch before she stopped what she was doing and regarded Liara thoughtfully. "You know, since I have you, it might not be a bad idea for me to have a quick look at you."

"A checkup?" Liara said, trying not to sound skeptical. "I'm fine."

"Maybe you'd like to think so, but this time yesterday you were gunning down banshees in wartorn London while Reapers were blowing entire fleets out of the sky. At the very least, I want to make sure you're okay physically."

"I assure you I'm fine," Liara insisted. "I know the asari are not known for their hardiness, but I've seem my fair share of battle, and I– ah!"

Apparently uninterested in Liara's protests, Dr. Chakwas had already lifted up her omni tool and began scanning Liara for biometric readings. Liara screwed her face and blinked rapidly as a flickering beam swept across her face.

"Done," Dr. Chakwas said before Liara could even think to argue again.

Liara took a moment to compose herself, feeling somewhat ruffled after the rather abrupt scan, blinking a few more times before looking at Dr. Chakwas again. "Well? What are the results?"

Dr. Chakwas studied her omni tool display as numbers and graphs scrolled by, making pensive sounds as she read over the results. "Nothing life-threatening," she said, "but your body is showing signs of general fatigue and stress."

"Nothing a good sleep won't fix," Liara replied.

"You already got that," Dr. Chakwas countered. "You were out for nearly fourteen hours last night."

Liara felt her face burn a little. She didn't realize it had been _that _long. "Well, I can't very well take a nap while everyone else is hard at work. I can't just sit around and do nothing," she said.

"The way you've been working lately, a bit of nothing might do you some good, Liara," Dr. Chakwas suggested. "Nevermind what the rest of us are doing, just take a moment for yourself. Go for a walk, maybe. Lord knows, we've got more than enough time for that."

Liara felt a small flicker of defiance burgeon in her chest and she tried to argue again, only for a stronger feeling for resignation to quash it when she suddenly felt too tired to argue the point further. Maybe Dr. Chakwas was right. "I don't know," Liara finally said. "I don't go on many walks these days. I certainly didn't while we were aboard the Normandy."

"Not much room to stroll there," Dr. Chakwas said.

"Not just that. There was always so much – too much – to do on the ship. Now, I'm practically begging for work. I don't even know what any of those bottles contain," she said, waving a hand at the crate, "and I certainly don't know how to set up a link to a comm buoy."

"You can't be hard at work all the time," Dr. Chakwas said warmly. "I barely saw you on the Normandy, and our cabins were right across from each other. Let others do the hard work for once. We all know what we're doing."

Liara sighed. "I just wish I knew what _I_ was doing."

"If you really need something to do, why don't you try to find Javik. He hasn't been seen since last night."

"Hmm. Traynor didn't know where he was either. He could be anywhere, I wouldn't even know where to look."

"Looks like you've found something to keep you occupied, then."

Liara sighed. "Not exactly what I had in mind but, oh, why not."

"Who knows, maybe he'll have a job for you."

"I doubt there's anything he couldn't do that a 'primitive' like me could," Liara said sarcastically, "but it wouldn't hurt to try, I suppose."

Dr. Chakwas had opened a few cupboards on the wall and was busy filing away some of the medicine she had unpacked, which only drove home the fact that Liara would be no help, considering she wouldn't know how anything was sorted.

"I suppose I'll go find Javik," she said. "If you're sure there isn't anything I can help with," she added hopefully.

"I'm sure. Go outside, soak in some vitamin D, doctor's orders."

"Asari rarely suffer from vitamin D deficiencies," Liara said, smirking, "but all right. Good bye, doctor."

"Take care of yourself, Liara."

When she reemerged from the hospital, Liara was surprised to see the sun had barely moved in the sky. She had already been up for over an hour, and yet it still felt like the early morning. A thirty-six hour day would definitely take some getting used to, Liara thought wearily.

With the task of finding Javik before her now, Liara felt a little overwhelmed when she looked at the sweeping skyline of the capital city. Would Javik be somewhere in there, Liara wondered. She hoped not, as she could probably spend a week scouring the sprawling grid of streets and not find anything. She turned away from the city, where the narrow roads and smaller buildings of the outskirts gave way to flat, grassy plains and, in the distance, a different skyline, one of mountains and tall trees. A sudden flicker of excitement sparked in Liara, something she had not felt in a very long time, as she looked at the uninhabited wilderness around her and wondered fleetingly if there were any ruins out there. Her last expedition had been the Therum dig, over three years prior when she had first met Commander Shepard. Since then, she had spent all her time either on a starship or in an office. This would make the first time in a long while that Liara was on a new planet with enough time to actually explore it.

Liara looked back at the urban sprawl behind her and quickly decided she wasn't going to bother looking there. She tried to rationalize her decision by telling herself that Javik wouldn't care to wander an empty city anyway, especially a human one. He was continually disappointed by this cycle's community planning and development, how it veered so far from the rigid order of the Prothean Empire. At least, he might appreciate the landscape more. As a soldier, Liara assumed he didn't see much of it – that is, unless it was smouldering or crawling with Reaper troops.

It was a stab in the dark, but Liara couldn't stand around forever. She had a very long day ahead of her, and she had to pass the time somehow. Heaving a deep breath, she started toward the edge of the city and into the wild.


End file.
